Fieldwork903.Kyoto,May.2024.

The beginning of the Aoi Festival in Kyoto is as follows.
When the group arrives at Shimogamo Shrine, a shrine ceremony is held, and as part of this ceremony, horses gallop at a gallop during the ``Soma Someme'' ceremony. The Aoi Festival is said to have begun during the reign of Emperor Kinmei in the mid-6th century, before the capital moved to Heian-kyo. At that time, the country was suffering from poor harvests due to wind and flood damage, so when the fortune teller Wakahiko Ikiyoshi told her that it was a curse from the god of Kamo, she decorated it with hollyhocks on auspicious days in April. It is said that the festival began when horses were run with bells attached, and people wore boar heads to pray for a rich harvest.